Remand Rail

Hey Hey Hey! 👋🏾

It’s been a long time coming; hasn’t it?

Weep no more for the time is nigh for yet another beautiful story of God’s marvelous works. Buckle up!

I shared with you about the power of testimony, isn’t it?

Well, today I have a sweet testimony to share with you. 🤗

Let’s begin.

[Clears Throat]

Ahem!

The date was 4th, the month of September in the year 2018.

It was early in the morning and I was heading to work like I usually do. I was walking along the sidewalk and I saw a police pickup parked right at the curb. I move on with my agenda of getting to work but little did I know that I was soon to be given a ride in the Utumishi kwa wote (i.e. ‘service to all’) vehicle.

Quick fact: In Nairobi, rather, in Kenya at large; pedestrians are required to use the flyovers when crossing the road for obvious safety reasons. Failure to use the flyover often results in punitive action by the long arm of the law.

Don’t get me wrong; I usually take the flyover and I like the physical exercise that comes with going up and down the stairs and getting the view of the cars from the atop the flyover; but on that particular day, I decided not to use the flyover as I wanted to get to the office earlier than my usual time.

Clearly my intentions were sniffed out from miles away as one of the cops beckoned me and told me to get into the pickup! Sigh! What now?

The obedient me gets into the back of the pickup awaiting the next course of action from the police.

I thought I could talk my way out of it and would be soon heading to the office but it turned out that those thoughts were simply wishful. God had other plans for me.

Once the pickup was full (with other petty offenders), I heard the engine run and off we were to an unknown destination. To make matters more interesting, the sirens were turned on! It was quite a scene! 😂

So here I am in a police car with sirens blazing being ferried to an unknown destination. What a way to start the day! 🤦🏾‍♀️

Given that a great deal of time had gone by and I was grossly late in getting to the office, I sent a text message to my colleague (let’s call him Savvy) explaining to him that I was in a ‘situation’ where I’d been caught by the police and we were being taken ‘somewhere’.

I was sitting next to a police officer and I asked him where we were headed to only to be told that we were going straight to court! How sway? My attempts at sweet talking the police officers fell on deaf ears so I took a deep breath and began praying in tongues. That was the best decision I made as I was immediately overcome by an inexplicable wave of peace and joy. The Holy Spirit reminded me that God is always in control. God knew exactly how the day would turn out even before He woke me up!

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.”

Psalm 139:16 Berean Study Bible

My portion was to remain still with the full confidence that my Saviour’s got this! 💪🏽

“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.””

Exodus 14:14 NLT #KeepCalm

Not before long, we arrived at the Kibera Law Courts of Nairobi and it was there that we were ‘offloaded’ from the pick up and taken straight to the remand cell. Who could have fathomed that I’d one day step into a cell? Well, it wasn’t meant to be imagined; it was meant to happen on this very day!

F7686DA2-C564-416C-9FA7-3D84E4C4ECAE — This is the snapshot I took while I was in the cell.

I walked into the cell gleefully with a song in my heart and began reading Psalms 100 while in waiting. Thankfully, they didn’t take our belongings so I used the Bible App in my phone to go through the scriptures.

I soon received a phone call from my colleague (Savvy) telling me that he had come to Kibera to get me! Wow! Can you imagine that? I was so touched! [teardrop]

A few minutes after getting into the cell, a nature call came knocking at the door of my bladder. Oh dear. Where could I get a restroom while in remand? I walked out and asked one of the police men to lead me to where the restrooms where and I was shown the door to one gory-looking facility that I definitely did not want to use. Once again, God to the rescue and here comes a warden who asks me how he may be of assistance. Interesting turn of events, right?

I tell the kind warden that I desired to use the restrooms and he led me to the staff washrooms…. Woopie! Those loos were fresh, clean and smelling oh-so-glorious! Hallelujah! Why am I telling you about my journey to the restrooms? My answer is simple; I’d like you to know that God is interested in each and every aspect of our lives. There is nothing that is too minute or too inconspicuous for God’s involvement – Yes, even a bathroom break counts!

I mean, I was in remand and was actually meant to use the less-than-splendid toilet but God had better plans for my nature call! He wanted me to use the plush restrooms you know.. I’m a child of God! 😉

“I say, ‘You are gods; you are all children of the Most High.'”

Psalm 82:6 NLT

Alright, after my lavatory visit, I headed back to the cell but before I walked in, I asked the police officer once again whether I had a chance of defending myself but he vehemently refused and said that the next step for me was to go to court. I then requested the same police officer to allow me to speak to a man named Bantwana (not his real name).

You’re wondering who Bantwana is, right? Let’s rewind a little bit. [insert record scratch sound].

I heard the name Bantwana when we got to the Kibera Law Courts. As we were alighting from the police pickup; the lady cop immediately shouted, “Leo mutaonana na Bantwana!” (Translated to mean, “Today, you will meet Bantwana!”) So I figured that Bantwana must be a highly influential person in that place.

Now when I got to the cell, who else to seek for other than Bantwana?

After requesting to speak with Bantwana, the police officer told me that he would call me once Bantwana arrived.

I walked back to the cell and continued reading the Bible. This time round I flipped to Psalms 145 as I hummed the Wenzile tune by Joyous Celebrations. Not before long, one of the officers beckons me to step outside. I obey.

I was introduced to Bantwana who was a tall, slender man. Mr. Bantwana asked me what my offense was and I explained the scenario to him. Secondly, he asked me where I was headed to and I replied that I was headed to the town centre first before going to Bible School.

Mr. Bantwana was shocked when I told him that I was in Bible School. After listening to me, he told me to return to the cell and I’d be called again.

Shortly after speaking with Mr. Bantwana, I receive a text message from Savvy (my colleague who had come to Kibera to get me) telling me that the court marshals had just informed him that files were ready and that we’d soon be going to court for a hearing. I believed in my heart that I would not go to court come what may. I replied to Savvy’s text with four words; “I’ll be out shortly.”

Once again, I was beckoned by another police officer to step outside and I did exactly that. The police officer asked me where I was heading to and I responded the same way I did to Mr. Bantwana; that I was on my way to the town centre before proceeding to Bible School. The said police officer was quite shocked when he heard that I was going to Bible School. I even showed him my curriculum handbook much to his disbelief! Haha! Is it that he thought a young girl cannot be in Bible school? Oh well, I thank God for calling me to serve Him at a young age. 🙂 😉

As we were speaking, I heard the jingling of keys and the officer tells me that I was being released. I was free to go about my day!

“…. At once all the prison doors flew open…..”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:26‬ ‭NIV

Can I hear a shout of praise?

Yes, that’s right! I was set free without having to go to court, paying a fine or giving ‘something small’ to the cops. I did not spend a penny.

That is how God surrounds the righteous with favour as a shield.

“Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”

Psalms 5:12 NIV

The other officers who were standing outside the remand cell were shocked to see me leave even before going to court! They thought I had some ties with the police big wigs but my tie is with The Major Big Wig – God.

God is great! Hallelujah!

As I stepped out of the cell, I met Savvy who’d left the office to come rescue me!

God bless him abundantly!!

I was overwhelmed with joy!

With a song in my heart and a skip in my step, I get into Savvy’s car and we rode into happily ever after! 😁